Christmas angels rescue Craigslist victims

TAMPA - They saw the story on TV and cringed.

An online scammer misleads needy families into thinking she'll be their Christmas angel, promising gifts, food, and money for bills.

In the end, the families are left with nothing just a few days away from the holiday.

"We thought it was an atrocity," said Kelly Cook-Carter, market manager for Bank Atlantic. "So I went to our president and asked if we could do something, and he said, 'Go for it.''

Cook-Carter had two days. So, she pasted a printout of the story onto a cardboard box and asked her co-workers to pitch in.

It didn't take long for the box to overflow.

Employees and customers collected more than 100 toys, plus enough money to buy gift cards for older children caught up in the cruel hoax, posted on Craigslist.org.

"This is the result," Cook-Carter said, pointing to the bank's cluttered lobby. Toys climbed the wall and lined a hallway.

"Nobody deserves to have an empty Christmas," offered Doug Tuttle, the bank's local president.

Tuttle, Cook-Carter, and other Bank Atlantic workers spent part of the morning loading the toys into a Salvation Army social worker's Honda.

Tall bags of stuffed animals and wide boxes of board games barely fit into the small sedan.

Social worker Kip Corriveau said he would later deliver the toys, perhaps preserving the promise of Santa Claus for families whose holiday was nearly stolen by a Grinch.

"They're going to be able to have a Christmas," he said. "But I think even more than that it is the idea that somebody cares about them."